The first I’d heard of a Dead Man’s Penny was by chance yesterday. If you know all about them you may want to skip to a digression at the end of the post.
Why I’d not heard of, let alone seen, a Dead Man’s Penny is a mystery as my grandfather should have had one, maybe did and maybe it’s still at Barmeath. Its official name is a Memorial Plaque and they were cast in bronze to commemorate all the British and Empire servicemen and women killed in the First World War. They were personalised with the dead person’s name and issued to next of kin. The term Dead Man’s Penny came from their resemblance to over-sized pennies. I wonder if the sobriquet made them rather unpopular? It would be understandable to feel aggrieved that a life had been exchanged for a penny.
The scale on which they were manufactured is prodigious; 1,355,000 “pennies” were issued, of which 600 were to commemorate women, using 450 tons of bronze. My grandfather should have had one to commemorate his half-brother killed in the Irish Guards in 1917. I have a miniature of Courtenay in Irish Guards Service Dress and my brother and I gave the valves that he salvaged from a Zeppelin shot down in Essex to the regiment. If you are interested in how he acquired them here is the story.
Perhaps it’s worth deconstructing the medallion. “He died for freedom and honour” is almost straightforward but the “He” had to be adjusted when medallions were cast for “She”. Britannia clutching a victory wreath and the lion are self-explanatory. Note the dolphins swimming around her symbolising Britannia ruling the waves. The bottom looks a bit of a muddle but it is a representation of the British lion mauling the German eagle. Not much reconciliation then.
The BBC screened a documentary about the Prince of Wales last week. It was filmed over a year and was an opportunity to see the private Prince, the hard-working Prince and to hear tributes to him from his family and admirers. I cry at inappropriate times and it made me blub. If you happened to watch the film please tick a box.
1. This was a sensitive documentary allowing us to get to know the PoW, showing his private side and demonstrating why he is fit to succeed his mother.
2. This was the most shameless bit of monarchist propaganda of which even the Dear Leader in North Korea would be ashamed.
3. Don’t know – went to sleep.
At this time of year it is mandatory to show something autumnal.
Number 1: tick. Although even an unashamed monarchist like me recognises there is a high degree of stage management around such films, so one can not deny the propaganda. Images of His Royal Highness collecting a few eggs or feeding swine may briefly appeal to our sentimental side, but in an age when issues facing the countryside and rural economy are often wilfully ignored by leaders and politicians, the Prince has asserted the plight of farmers and the rural economy, for that I salute him.
In the 1970’s, 80’s & 90’s his views on conservation, the environment and climate change were viewed as whimsical and wayward. Today these are big news stories. Such perceptiveness surely gives him substantial credibility?
HRH will be guest editing this weeks edition of Country Life, so more PPP (positive Prince publicity). I am looking forward to a snoop around the gardens at Highgrove.
Dead men’s pennies were also know, at least in the west of Ireland, as widows pennies.